Getting a Reed of the Secondary

Dan Tortora

04/25/2013

On the field as an assistant for the Orange is a first for Reed. He describes what he has taken from the secondary's play so far in the Spring, gives his views on his fellow coaches, and more with CuseNation.com inside.

Fred Reed was one of the final pieces Scott Shafer used to solidify the puzzle of his coaching staff moving forward.

He has been given the task of leading the Syracuse Orange secondary, which in turn is meant to aid the defense and the football squad as a whole.

From what he has seen so far, Reed stated that he finds the secondary to be a "very aggressive group". "They work hard," said Reed. "They work really hard and that starts from the top down, in terms of what we're trying to get accomplished on defense."

"It's a veteran group, so they got a lot of experience under their belts and so I'm looking forward to coaching them," he added.

Looking at the play of free safety Durell Eskridge, a recurring face involved in the secondary rotation last season, Reed offered, "He's done a nice job. He's still learning on the job, so to speak, just has a long way to go. But he has a lot of potential."

Reed went on to say, "He's done a pretty good job this Spring and then hopefully he continues to improve."

Turning his focus to a cornerback who has batted pass attempts away and broken up scoring opportunities during Spring practices, Reed shared his take on Joe Nassib. "Joe is a solid team player," Reed remarked. "He does everything we need in terms of being a positive influence on our guys. Really good communicator and hard worker, and I just love the energy that he brings to the table."

Looking back to the Spring game, Reed shared what he saw most from the secondary. "I think the hustle," Reed stated. "There were some guys that got their hands on the ball a few times, communication was good out there...the camaraderie's good, so everything was positive. It was a positive vibe, so those were the things I liked, especially when you start to play in more of a game atmosphere and those things like that. I thought they handled that really well."

Although stating, "My main focus has been on the guys that are here," Reed did offer some thoughts on incoming freshman cornerback Chauncey Scissum. "I'm looking forward to him," said Reed. "I've talked to Chauncey several times. He's been to practices and things of that nature. And he's a good kid, so I'm looking forward to coaching him."

Shifting to his peers on the coaching staff, Reed provided his description of Shafer. "High energy, great personality, good person," Reed stated. "A family-oriented person, and that's one of the things I really like about him and his wife, Missy. They're awesome."

Next, he spoke of his fellow defensive coaches. "I think the defensive staff, the people I work with on a daily basis, they've been great," Reed expressed. "We got a good working relationship."

"And then the offensive staff as well, a lot of guys that I have a lot of respect for and we work well together," Reed continued. "It's a great group, starting from the top down."

Turning inward, Reed defined himself as a coach. "They say I'm a Jekyll and Hyde," he offered. "Sometimes I'm quiet and then at times I bust out of my shell. So, we'll get after it when we need to. I wanna be positive of our guys and also make sure that they're doing the right things, doing the little things, paying attention to detail. If we do those, I think we'll be great."